Bench going up....and so is the pain

[DIR]

Back story....started lifting again on october after 4 month layoff. Bench press has been increasing nicely. I have noticed now that as the weights have gotten heavier the elbow and shoulder pain Im getting is terrible.

I was using middle fingers on the rings grip with no issue up until about 2 weeks ago. I think going back to pinkies on the rings is one possible solution.

Question is I guess....is it common to get pain on bench when on all time PR territory?

Also what have you guys done to bench pain free?

I'm starting to get elbow and shoulder AIDS and being injured is the last thing I want.

[KOTJ]

post your video in the technique section. could be form.

[PatrickDB]

post your video in the technique section. could be form.

What video angles are useful for diagnosing bench issues?

[KOTJ]

post your video in the technique section. could be form.

What video angles are useful for diagnosing bench issues?

top and front angles: 45 degrees and str8 view towards crotch (seriously, since it shows both elbows simultaneously.

[augeleven]

I gave myself a subacromial impingement doing a weekly volume and intensity split for bench and press. Had to shut down presses while the inflammation went down. I would suggest against working through non-soreness pain to chase numbers. Definitely not a good idea long term.

[DIR]

Yes I will post a video. Could be technique...I'm hoping.

Im pissed too cause I'm making really good bench progress. The temptation to chase numbers is strong but I don't want to fuck myself up.

The pain is only presenting at higher weights and only happening while I'm doing it. Doesn't linger.

I'm going to try using my old grip next time I bench and see what happens. I have been using a wider ish grip and perhaps I just can't get away with it anymore

[d0uevenlift]

Yes I will post a video. Could be technique...I'm hoping.

Im pissed too cause I'm making really good bench progress. The temptation to chase numbers is strong but I don't want to fuck myself up.

The pain is only presenting at higher weights and only happening while I'm doing it. Doesn't linger.

I'm going to try using my old grip next time I bench and see what happens. I have been using a wider ish grip and perhaps I just can't get away with it anymore

I feel your pain. My volume and intensity has been increasing on comp bench and along with it, the pain. My e1RM at the start of this cycle was like 132.5kg, and now it's at 150kg. In 10 weeks! The price of that rapid progress, though, is shoulder and pec tendon pain any time I bench anything over 72-75%.

I'm gonna take a few days off benching and see if that helps. This is something you don't want to push through.

[DirtyRed]

Narrowing my grip by a finger (from middle finger on ring to ring finger on ring) relieved mild shoulder pain I was experiencing, I feel by making it easy to keep my elbows "down" and thereby avoiding shoulder impingement.

Does this pain occur in close grip bench press?

[DIR]

@DirtyRed I'm not sure I don't do ccbp usually. I didn't have the pain when I used a narrower grip in the past

[DIR]

Update for elbow fuckery .....

I used a closer grip pinkies on the rings last time I benched and had no real pain in shoulders or elbow tendons.

I think that the main culprit is low bar squats. That combined with wide ish bench grip.

[mgil]

Update for elbow fuckery .....

I used a closer grip pinkies on the rings last time I benched and had no real pain in shoulders or elbow tendons.

I think that the main culprit is low bar squats. That combined with wide ish bench grip.

I haven’t LBBS’d in quite a while. Last time I tried, my shoulder and elbows were mad as hell. I’ve been doing occasional HBBS and FS instead. I also bench as a main lift only once every 10 days with a secondary bench variant session in between. I can pile up a lot of volume in a session without issue, but benching 3x a week makes my shoulders really pissed off; I have lots of scar tissue in both.

I’m 6’ with a 37” sleeve and bench with my ring finger on the knurl marking. CGBP is done with my index completely on the smooth (of an OPB).

Dropping LBBS to a very low frequency and keeping the bench/press setup I have now is keeping my bench slowly going up and keeping 315+ a regular event nowadays on bench along with a 225 OHP that’s fairly reliable.

If there is a way to clean up your LBBS grip so that the pain is mitigated, that’s probably a good path to go down. Otherwise, consider a squat variant like HBBS or FS to keep the shoulders and elbows a little happier.

[DIR]

@mgil I was doing a "midbar" style squat before I broke my foot and I had zero elbow/shoulder issues. I think that lbbs and I don't play well together.

I can't tell if it's the bench r the squats that is pissing the shoulders and elbows off.

I'm going to go back to my hybrid squat style and narrow grip and see how it goes for a couple weeks

[AaronM]

Been having issues with my ulnar nerve (tingling/numb pinky and ring finger) for a few weeks, and I'm pretty sure my LBBS grip is a major part of the problem since I've been really focusing on getting my squat up the last few months.

@mgil , any tips on how to grip the bar with LBBS so as to not annoy my elbow or put too much pressure on the lower portion of my palm (under my pinky and ring finger)? I use a textbook SS thumbs over grip with straight wrists.

[mgil]

Been having issues with my ulnar nerve (tingling/numb pinky and ring finger) for a few weeks, and I'm pretty sure my LBBS grip is a major part of the problem since I've been really focusing on getting my squat up the last few months.

@mgil , any tips on how to grip the bar with LBBS so as to not annoy my elbow or put too much pressure on the lower portion of my palm (under my pinky and ring finger)? I use a textbook SS thumbs over grip with straight wrists.

Look to the way Jordan and Austin grip the bar. That might help.

[PatrickDB]

Look to the way Jordan and Austin grip the bar. That might help.

Thumbs around, with wrists cocked back?

If two medical professionals/powerlifters/strength coaches who've thought a lot about lifting do it this way, I'm starting to think I should too...

[AaronM]

Look to the way Jordan and Austin grip the bar. That might help.

Thumbs around, with wrists cocked back?

If two medical professionals/powerlifters/strength coaches who've thought a lot about lifting do it this way, I'm starting to think I should too...

I must be doing it wrong then. I tried that with light weights and wrist wraps, and my wrists felt strained. Guess I'll fiddle around with it some more with warmup weights.